Sports / Soccer |
Thai keeper flattered by Thaksin transfer target talk(Reuters)Updated: 2007-07-16 13:39 BANGKOK - Thai goalkeeper Kosin Hathairattanakool is flattered by reports linking him with a move to English Premier League side Manchester City, although he is refusing to take the speculation too seriously. Local media reported that Kosin was a transfer target of the English side's new owner, ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, but the modest stopper thinks the top league in England might be a little beyond his reach. "When I heard about these reports, I thought it was a joke," Kosin told Reuters. "But it's a nice feeling to be linked with a big English team. "I still have to improve. I don't think I'm ready for that yet, but if it happened, it would be like a dream," added the 25-year-old Kosin, who earns just $300 a week as a professional soccer player in Thailand. Thaksin, who has been living in exile since he was ousted in a coup last year, recently completed an 81 million pound ($163.8 million) takeover of Manchester City, a deal he says will help improve Thai soccer. Analysts have dismissed the takeover as an elaborate publicity stunt aimed at boosting his image among the soccer-mad Thai masses, whose votes gave Thaksin unprecedented landslide election victories in 2001 and 2005. Kosin lines up for Thailand at the Asian Cup on Monday in a Group A decider against pre-tournament favourites Australia. |
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